PORTALES, N.M. - The Texas A&M-Kingsville football program pitched a shutout in the second half at Greyhound Stadium and walked away with a 36-10 win in the Lone Star Conference opener against Eastern New Mexico on Saturday.
The Javelinas (2-1, 1-0 LSC) opened league play with a win for the first time since the 2012 season as they sprinted to the finish line and handed the Greyhounds (1-2, 0-1 LSC) their second loss.
Redshirt freshman Gilbert Garza (Weslaco, Texas) opened the scoring in the contest with a 46-yard boot early in the first. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Hounds ran back the ensuing kickoff for a 7-3 edge before five minutes had elapsed.
Garza tacked on another 40-yard field goal later in the first for a 7-6 score as the contest flipped over to the second quarter. The hosts added a 29-yard kick of their own at the 12:32 mark before a 43-yard connection from redshirt sophomore Zadock Dinkelmann (Somerset, Texas) to redshirt senior Ty Chisum (Eagle Pass, Texas) gave the Hogs the lead for good.
The game showed 13-10 favoring the visitors at the break as the Javelina defense made a statement on the first possession coming out of the locker room in the third quarter. A bad snap from ENMU was quickly picked up by Nathan Valencia but he had senior Tevita Mounga (Juice County, Calif.) bearing down on him in the Greyhound end zone and a desperation toss was flagged as intentional grounding as the Hogs opted for the safety.
TAMUK padded its lead near the 10-minute mark as another defensive stopped forced a fumble with senior Jacob Clarkson (Houston, Texas) punching the ball free on the sack of Valencia. Redshirt sophomore Christian Anderson (Cypress, Texas) walked the ball in on the ensuing possession from one yard out for a 22-10 cushion.
Another turnover from the Greyhounds was in order later in the third as Valencia lost the handle with 2:03 remaining and it tumbled into the hands of senior Dailon Gants (Beaumont, Texas) who covered it up in the end zone for a 29-10 lead. The last score came courtesy of a four-yard scramble from graduate student Shane Johnson (Houston, Texas) early in the fourth as the Hogs cruised to the 36-10 final decision.
The Javelina defense held the Greyhounds to 124 total yards in the contest, as 66 of those yards came through the air and the other 58 went on the ground. It was the third straight game to start the season the Javelinas held their opponent to fewer than 100 yards on the ground, fifth straight overall dating back to the 2021 spring season since head coach Mike Salinas took over.
The win over ENMU is also the first in the LSC opener for TAMUK since the 2012 season when the program turned in a hard-fought 16-13 victory over No. 9 Abilene Christian on the road on September 8. It is also the first time the program featured a winning record at any point of the season since the 56-7 win over UT Permian Basin on October 15, 2016, that moved the Javelina record to 4-3 as the team finished 9-3 with a win in the Live United Bowl that year.
The Hogs return to Pepsi Field at Javelina Stadium next week to host No. 21/13 A&M-Commerce for the Chennault Cup. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT in Kingsville as the game is part of the Family Fiesta Weekend on campus.
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